Insomnia
by gift of the gabz
Summary: With Rogue battling a case of insomnia while Logan searches for his past will the two of them find where they're meant to be? Set during the end of X-Men and the start of X2.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is what happens when you get a nasty cold so your bed ridden and the closest DVD in you reach is X-Men. Enjoy ~ Gabz**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Rogue growled under her breath as she slinked back through the large doors of the mansion. She no longer worried about the few creaky floorboards scattered about the mansion or loud slamming doors as she was sure that by this point she'd be able to navigate the place blindfolded.

Having spent the last month since Logan had up and left to search for his past with an insane level of insomnia - to the point that she spent a few days awake in an attempt to tire herself out - she had a routine down. Exhaling quickly, she countered that by breathing in slowly in an attempt to get her heart rate back to normal.

She'd taken a jog around the grounds after running a few level five simulations in the Danger Room but neither of which helped her constantly spinning mind. The soft strands of classical music that she'd mixed with the lullaby her mother used to hum floated through the headphones yet she was still nowhere close to tired.

Jumping over the lounge she landed comfortably next to Jones. He ceased his channel surfing momentarily - though his eyes never strayed from the television - and handed her a glass of warm milk. With a smile on her face she ruffled his dark hair, smiling at the innocence he held despite everything that was going on around him.

Somewhere between days five and eleven of her insomnia Jones and her had added in the glass of milk out of sheer desperation. They both knew it was pointless, she'd been doing this for long enough to know none of this was going to tire her out but it was now day thirty-two and they were still going.

Dutifully drank the milk regardless of the fact that it wasn't going to make a difference, Rogue tilted her head as she listened to the rapidly changing channels trying to pick what was on each one before Jones changed it.

As the minutes ticked by Rogue felt her body thrum with energy that was impossible to dispel so with a resigned sigh Rogue got off the lounge, pressing a soft kiss to the boy's head as she always did before continuing her way towards the stairs.

Looking over at him one last time she couldn't help but smile sadly at the fact that at such a young age he'd come to identify himself by his last name only.

In her second week she'd noticed it was a trait that ran through the students who'd been kicked out or sent here because their parents couldn't handle them anymore. However it seemed to her that none of the other students realised that there was a pattern they shared and it had made Rogue question if maybe it was an added bonus to the 'freak' gene as she often heard their mutated gene referred to.

A defence mechanism if you will. A way of distancing themselves from their past. After all that's was why she had done it, she'd just needed to get a little further away than most and as such she'd come up with Rogue.

She'd also noticed that those kids tended to resent the others more than anyone - perhaps even themselves - realised. She'd seen the way some of the kids flinched when Kitty's name was called across the room but they wouldn't even falter if someone screamed Pyro. It seemed to her that Kitty prided herself on having what she thought as a cool alias but Rogue had overheard Jubilee muttering about the fact that it was Kitty's father's nickname for her, something that was kept her connected to her family in the gaps between her parents' visits every three weeks.

While Rogue knew Bobby's situation was different, what with his parents not even know that he had a mutation, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt sometimes and she knew the others - the 'unwanted' ones - felt the same way.

Even though Rogue knew she was safe here, even though the students and teachers were nice and some of them even nice _to _her, it wasn't where she wanted to be and she was constantly reminded of that by the thrumming energy that wanted her to run. It definitely said something if you were a freak among the freaks.

She knew the others were all confused as to why her name was only Rogue. Even those who wanted to be known by their alias had a name. As if her skin wasn't enough of a reason for people to stay away the fact that no one - not even the professor - knew her name caused a lot of uncertainty where she was involved.

Quite honestly she had been surprised herself when she discovered the Professor was still unaware of her given name but she had a feeling it helped that she now only thought of herself as Rogue and well she had no doubt Logan could give any one a run for their money in terms of his stubbornness. If he didn't want you to know something you didn't - mind reader or not.

Luckily she had her own little band of misfits here. Bobby, Jubilee, Kitty and Pyro didn't seem to mind her but she wondered if they knew just how quickly she'd give them all up if it meant Logan would come back.

She couldn't help the voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Logan that said something was going to go horribly wrong if he kept digging around Alkali Lake alone. She knew she wasn't supposed to know where Logan was and had no doubt the Professor would be fairly angry with Logan if he ever found out she knew but Logan _trusted_ her. Trusted her enough to leave her with that very dangerous piece of information.

Flashes of the nightmares she had flooded her brain and without much cognitive thought she punched the door in front of her, shrieking slightly when her hand exploded in pain. Surprised by the anger that had bubbled up inside her, Rogue sent out a plea to whoever was listening that Logan returned soon. She wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to keep herself from running after him and she knew that wouldn't end well for either of them.

She knew he was capable of taking care of himself - his memories proving as much - but that didn't mean she wasn't worried. She was certain that whatever was coming, it wasn't just going to cause him physical pain but emotional and psychological as well and she needed to be there with him and for him when it hit.

Finally reaching her destination, Rogue welcomed the quiet hoping it would help her mind settle. Brushing her hand against the cool metal of Logan's dog tags, she felt her body finally relax a bit. Going through her nightly routine took a few minutes before she slipped into the bed she'd quietly claimed as her own, sleep finally coming as the familiar scents of the room overwhelmed her.


	2. Chapter 2

Logan groaned a little as he lifted himself off his bike. Glancing down at his slashed and bloodied clothes he grunted in frustration. Running a hand through his hair he wasn't sure if he made it better or worse but it definitely felt like hell on his injured ribs.

Stalking through the mansion he was only slightly aware of the purely animalistic stance he was using. Bypassing the lounge he raised an eyebrow at the kid sitting in there mindlessly flicking through the channels by blinking. He was slightly impressed when the kid simply mimicked his eyebrow raise before turning back to the television.

Rogue's scent permeated the room but it was already a few hours old. Taking a closer look at the boy he couldn't help the half smile that formed on his face as he pictured Marie sitting in here with him. He figured the kid was definitely weird enough to pique her interest, hell even Logan was interested - the kid hadn't been affected at all by his appearance.

Leaving the kid to his watching, he considered the hypocrisy of telling him it would fry his brain but he figured this was likely to be the kid's way of resting.

Feeling a wave of exhaustion crash over him as he spotted his room Logan lowered his guard slightly, at least he hoped it was still his room - he'd left half his stuff in there anyway so it better still be his. Once again grateful that it was in the guest quarters side of the house and then the topmost floor at that he relished in the seclusion and the privacy that provided. No one came this far up and that was exactly why he'd requested it.

Resting his head against the door frame he waited for the familiar 'Snikt' before he closed his eyes, letting his instincts take over as he picked the lock. Glancing at the wall he was leaning against he pulled away glad to see he hadn't left any blood stains. Growling quietly as he thought over how damn indestructible Sabertooth was turning out to be, he quickly tried to reign in his anger before he punched a whole in the wall.

Thinking back on the events of the night had the claws on his other hand releasing as his animalistic side reared it's head. He'd been all set to cross the border _peacefully _and _calmly_ when Sabertooth had come out of nowhere and attacked.

Logan held back a roar of frustration aware he'd wake half the mansion if he let it loose and that was the last thing he wanted right now. A nosy Scooter with his annoyingly indecisive fiancée and a bunch of snot nosed kids were hard enough to deal with when he hadn't just been in a fight.

Trying to focus on something positive like the fact he had inflicted more pain on Sabertooth this time than he had in any of their previous fights. He had to admit that he was rather surprised and impressed that Sabertooth had managed to survive Scooter's blast and the subsequent drop from Liberty Island but despite acknowledging that he still felt his body relax a fraction.

He'd couldn't help his growl this time as he recalled the fact that Sabertooth had been the one to cheerfully point out that for the first time in at least fifteen years the Wolverine has a weakness. A point he'd made when Logan had been primed for the kill, and the bastard had mockingly asked about Rogue or as he so eloquently put it 'the thing with the killer skin'.

The smirk on his face had been enough to have Logan on his bike and speeding across the border heading towards the mansion without so much as a glance back.

As he'd driven up the driveway he'd let out a breath of relief as he smelt her scent all over the place. Sure it was saturated with enough frustration and exhaustion that he nearly jumped straight off his bike without turning it off to find her and make sure she was alright but the point was it was there.

Once he'd paid enough attention to realise the scent was about an hour old, he accepted that she was most likely asleep by now. He also knew it wasn't fair of him to wake her up just to alleviate his worry despite how much he wanted to. Somewhat calmed by that, he'd finally allowed his body to feel the consequences of his fight with Sabertooth, swearing to kill him for good the next chance he got.

Alkali Lake hadn't given him any answers. The whole time he was there it was as if there was a voice in his head telling him to go away and come back with back up. Strangely enough that voice had sounded exactly like Marie - right down to her southern twang. So even though he was frustrated by the lack of answers he didn't feel like he had failed. Instead it was as if he'd - for once in his life - made the right choice by coming back.

He didn't know why but it seemed like Rouge- his Marie needed him at the moment.

Shuffling through his bedroom door he nudged it closed, satisfied at the click as it relocked itself. Shedding his clothes as he moved towards the shower, he was barely aware of anything other than the fact he was caked with blood - some of it his own.

Logan growled quietly as the stream of water hit his sore and tense body as if trying to warn the liquid to go easy on him. Scrubbing his hand across his bare skin he winced as the dry blood pulled painfully against his skin opening up healing wounds. Resting his hand on the wall to keep him upright he couldn't help the frustrated groan at the pain bouncing through him.

People so often confused his ability with that of feeling no pain and every time he responded with a dark chuckle wishing it was only that simple.

Waiting for the water to finally run clear again, he sighed in relief, glad he no longer had Sabertooth's stench all over him. It was bad enough hearing his mocking words echoing around his mind.

Sighing, he blindly reached for a towel as he stepped out and began sleepily drying off making sure to get every last drop. His bare feet sunk into the carpet as he made his way over to the bed, his eyes barely open as he used his hands to guide his way.

Sighing as he burrowed into the soft sheets he couldn't believe what a relief it was after the nights he'd spent sleeping on the floor of various Canadian caves.

One of the things he'd discovered as he'd travelled closer and closer to Alkali Lake was a decrease in the hygiene practices of the motels. Mostly he hadn't minded - his enhanced senses that allowed him to know where every bug in the room was and made sure he knew which sheets he needed to avoid sleeping on. So while he assumed that with that kind of knowledge most people would have been running in the opposite direction, he'd stayed strong as he had a mission to complete.

As such he'd continued onward until he realised that no matter how uncomfortable the cave floors were, they were substantially cleaner than any other alternatives.

Curling into the middle of the bed, he felt the exhaustion settle into his adamantium coated bones. Though he refused to call it _his _bed - it was too permanent a thought which made him twitchy - it was impossible to ignore the gratefulness he had that he could call it that if he wanted. His sigh of relief quickly turned into a quiet snore as he fell into the dark abyss of sleep.

**A/N Yay, Logan's back :) Hope you guys liked this chapter. Thanks for reading, favoriting, following and reviewing it means a lot and is very encouraging.**

**Until next time ~ Gabz**


	3. Chapter 3

Rogue's eye fluttered open as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Strangely she'd awoken at the start of her acquired nightmare from Logan's mind when usually it was only once she was screaming herself hoarse that she stirred.

Her breath came out in quiet pants as she recalled her lie to Logan. She knew how important it was for him to find his past so she'd let him believe she was okay alone at the school. Yet it still took everything in her not to call him back the minute the door closed behind him.

It wasn't as if she didn't have nightmares of her own, some including a different ending to the Liberty Island incident where Logan died and hadn't been able to stop the machine in time or the ones where Jean dumped Scott and finally decided to accept Logan's advances causing Rogue herself to fade completely from Logan's mind. It was just that his nightmares were worse.

Probably because they both knew that they were more than just nightmares - they were memories. Painful memories.

She briefly wondered if the nightmares would have been easier to deal with had she not let him go or if she'd gone with him but she was positive he didn't want an annoying kid like herself at his side as he searched for his past. A past he knew nothing about - something which had to be way too intimate to be shared with her.

After all he was only supposed to give her a lift to the next town - not get dragged into the insane kidnapping plot against her.

Finally awake enough Rogue startled as she registered a warm arm wrapped tightly around her waist and the fact that her back was pressed against a very naked, very defined chest. Feeling her skin tingling an indicator that her power was very much activated she was utterly confused when no sounds of pain were released from the body pressed against her.

That confusion quickly turned to fear as she realised her first line of defence was gone and within seconds she was squirming, madly trying to pull away from it desperately wishing Logan had taught her more self defence.

Instead of escaping her actions had the opposite affect as the arm only tightened further around her. Halting her breathing completely as fear clouded her mind she was surprised when a small moan of discomfort left the person's mouth followed by a quiet and slightly agitated 'Marie' mumbled into her ear.

Her body instantly relaxed immediately recognizing Logan's voice before she consciously processed it.

Focusing her mind, she quickly sifted through what she dubbed her 'Logan files' noticing the new memories now present. A small smile prickled at her mouth and she couldn't help the way she turned in his arms so her face was facing his chest.

Cautiously her hand ran gently over the skin that had been slowly stitching itself back together feeling a pang of pain deep within herself as she recalled how he'd been injured.

Pushing past the flair of anger that was pulsating inside her as she imagined exactly what she'd do to Sabertooth when she could get her hands on him, she focused on his now only slightly pink skin and his memories of the last month.

A burst of smug satisfaction flooded her as she realised how much he spent wondering how she was doing and wishing she was with him. Excitement quickly joined in as she figured that maybe, just maybe, he didn't just see her as some annoying kid like she thought he did.

Reaching up Rogue stroked his cheek softly as her eyes roamed over his delightfully peaceful and open face. She knew she shouldn't be surprised that he hadn't changed in the month he'd been away but she was. Though that didn't stop the fact that in her crazy changing life of the last year he still stayed constant, something that reassured her more than she could ever express.

Her eyes widened as she felt the dull ache from her earlier attack against the wall disappear, instantly followed by the tingling sensation ceasing, letting her know her skin was no longer active.

Gazing at his face again, she traced every vein in his face with her fingertips feeling them perfectly in place. There was no bulging veins, or widened eye. No gasping last breaths or desperate clutches. He was just Logan.

Rogue burrowed further into his arms, tears of wonder prickling at her eyes as her eyelashes brushed his chest.

Curling her hand around his dog tags that were nestled in their place between her breasts, she sighed in a mix of confusion and joy, not sure how she was supposed to deal with this new development.

Logan's brow furrowed in his sleep as he nuzzled his nose against the space between her neck and collarbone, breathing in her scent. As if sensing her unease, he wrapped his arms tighter around her. Feeling the soft feminine body pressed firmly against his own he happily sighed her name, staying wrapped around her like another blanket.

Soothed by Logan's acceptance of her presence in his bed, even if it was his subconscious, Rogue rested her free hand on his chest. Feeling him press a soft kiss to her collarbone her breath caught in her throat as she slowly drifted back to sleep with her hand flattened against his calmly beating heart.

**A/N Thanks to the reviewers and favorite-ers and followers from the last two chapters, sorry about the long wait and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next time look forward to some other characters making an appearance.**


	4. Chapter 4

Kitty's knee bounced impatiently as she waited in the common room, her eyes darting around the blue room every few minutes cataloguing ever minute change. While Rogue had a tendency to keep to herself she generally showed her face by eleven on weekends, even if it was just to let people know she hadn't run away again. Running a hand through her brown hair, Kitty ignored the looked Pyro shot her and instead re-focused her eyes on the door.

Frustrated at her friends nervous ticks, Jubilee placed her hand firmly on the other girl's knee. "If you don't stop, I'll get Bobby to freeze your leg to the floor and we'll see how well you can phase out of it."

Bobby paled at the sound of his name, only losing more colour as Jubilee continued. Moving over next to the pair, he leant down in front of Kitty, taking her shaking hands in his own. "I know you're worried about her but she's a big girl, with a badass ability that will protect her and while I know none of us have been told anything about what happened when Rogue ran away, you know just as well as I do that she's capable of taking care of herself."

Unable to help his snort of amusement John, pushed himself off the wall. It was amazing how quickly everyone had taken to ignoring the fact that Rogue had apparently bleached her hair white during that time. So yeah, she was definitely able to take care of herself but at what cost. While he wasn't a hairdresser, even he knew there was something mutant related in that story.

When he thought about it John couldn't help but wonder if the teachers - including the ones that went after Rogue - even knew what really happened. He couldn't shake the feeling that the _only_ ones who knew what truly happened was Rogue and Wolverine. Either way the girl was definitely shifty.

Deciding against worrying the group further, especially since he too was starting to get a little anxious himself at Rogue's continued absence, John redirected his thoughts, finally speaking up after his initial snort. She may be shifty but she was kind of his friend. "Besides if she can't take care of herself she's always got Wolverine." It was a simple statement but no one was able to deny the strange bond the two had even if they didn't understand it.

He watched as everyone's eyes clouded over remembering the night before Rogue had run. He didn't know exactly what had happened to make her flee but he had a fairly good idea.

Since Rogue wasn't officially enrolled in the school yet she had been placed in the guest quarters and the four of them had decided to find out a little bit more about the new girl. Employing their sneaking skills they'd been creeping up the corridor leading to what they hoped was her room when they'd heard Wolverine screaming for help.

They'd arrived just in time to watch Rogue's tiny, delicate hand reach out and brush Wolverine's cheek. At first they'd been confused, then they noticed the blood staining Rogue's ripped nightgown and watched with a morbid fascination as her skin stitched itself back together and her breathing evened out as Wolverine's began to falter. Seconds later she snatched her hand away and was fully healed, while Wolverine had crashed to the ground and started seizing.

By that point they were surrounded by Ms Munroe, Mr Summers and Dr Grey and the whole group they watched as Rogue fought with herself, wanting to reach out and comfort Wolverine but knowing what would happen if she did.

Rogue's flight instincts seemed to have won over and she had run through them muttering a simple 'it was an accident' in what seemed like the perfect mix of her own southern accent and Wolverine's gravely growl.

John remembered questioning which one of them she was excusing or whether it was their collective actions she was addressing, for he was certain the blood on Rogue's nightgown had come from her being skewered by Wolverine's claws long before she'd accidentally drained him.

While the four of them had already made a silent pack to stay quiet about the whole event it appeared that some of the other students who had been drawn by the noise had no such qualms.

Rogue had barely left the Wolverine's side when he was recovering in Dr Grey's lab but regardless of that they had easily picked up some of his less desirable but very dominant traits showcasing themselves in her. Traits that only seemed to increase once Rogue got out more after she returned with the team complete with the new addition of two very white streaks of hair.

In fact it was only about a week ago that his traits seemed to finally disappear from her personality all together - almost like a switch had been flipped - but at the same time they'd lost Rogue too. She seemed to withdraw into herself more like she was searching for something inside her that she'd lost. She started to sleep in more and even though it wasn't tinged with Wolverine's distinct inflections, she started to growl more of her answers, her own accent disappearing within the animalistic sound.

So despite everything, John thought it was a reasonable assumption that Rogue may have just taken off… _again_.

Scott paced as he glanced over at four of his most daring students. He wasn't a hundred percent sure what happened at Liberty Island given that his eyes had been closed for a good portion of it and then from what he'd spoken to Jean about all she knew was one minute Logan was up and restrained to the wall, the next he was on the ground playing dead. However the one thing he knew without a doubt was the urge to run was one of Wolverine's extremely dominant traits and he worried that it might have become too dominant.

Hell, he was fairly certain Rogue's own basic instinct was to run and as such he understood why the four of them were staring uncertainly at the door.

With the Professor and Jean at a conference in D.C this weekend it was the perfect chance for Rogue to run and run far.

A soft but firm hand gripped his shoulder, halting his pacing and turning him so he had no choice but to look into Ororo's penetrating eyes. He was certain she could see all his worries just with one gaze, in a lot of ways she was more intimidating than Jean or the Professor - not that he'd ever tell her that.

"Come on." Pulling Scott along beside her Ororo walked over to the unsettled teenagers, gesturing for them to follow her, they might not have psychic powers but they were trained to be perceptive and she was worried about their newest addition as well.

Walking through the house, they cleared room after room, only getting more and more agitated as their searched returned nothing.

Sparing a glance at the garage Kitty finally squealed in delight as a feeling of hope spread through her body. There in the corner was Logan's bike. "He's here. Wolverine's back."

John walked over to the bike, noticing the slight improvements that had been made since he'd been gone. "Man he's got a nice bike." He noticed Bobby nodding in response as he moved his hand over the various components reverently.

Scowling at the boys who were fawning over _his _bike, Scott begrudgingly admitted Logan had made some nice changes. "It's still _my _bike." Ignoring the look Ororo shot his way, he called Bobby and John back over knowing they needed to focus on looking for Rogue. "Wait… where's Jubilee? And Kitty?"

Hearing Kitty's terrified squeal they quickly rushed out into the hallway only to find Kitty latched onto Jubilee's arm trying to pull her back down from the staircase. "I'm not in the mood to discover if I can phase through his claws and everyone knows how much you irritate him - I personally think it has to do with his dislike of that much yellow - please just let your stupid crush go."

Almost immediately the rest of them realised Kitty had made a grave mistake as Jubilee's eyes flashed dangerously as she looked down at her friend.

"You think I'm doing this because of a _crush_," the word was spat out with so much venom that Kitty immediately dropped her arm and took an instinctual step back, "the _one_ person who has a hope in hell of finding Rogue before she does something stupid is miraculously here and you don't want to do anything with that. Well, Rogue is my friend and I'm not going to stand by and let something happen because I was too afraid to face the Wolverine."

Running quickly up the stairs, Jubilee pushed her hands inside her pocket to keep them from shaking and giving just away how terrified she actually was. Glancing back once she noticed the others had fallen into step behind her and she gained a little more confidence knowing they had her back.

Reaching the floor she was looking for her steps finally faltered her hand raised halfway to the wooden door before it dropped back to her side.

Despite their argument, Jubilee felt herself relax a little as Kitty wrapped her hand around her arm in silent support. John and Bobby flanked them on either side as Ms Munroe and Mr Summers stepped in front of them.

Ororo couldn't help but roll her eyes as she looked over at Scott. She understood why the kids were fearful, after all Logan and Rogue were only around for a few hours before Rogue ran away - an action which caused Logan to run around the mansion screaming at the kids to find out what had caused her to flee.

All of which was followed by the X-Men team being deployed for some mission the students were never fully briefed about, hell, the teachers weren't ever truly debriefed about it either.

Then once they'd returned and Logan had regained consciousness, whenever he was not a stone throw away from Rogue he was threatening the students that annoyed him in an offhand manner and growled noncommittally at the ones who didn't.

Hearing a loud warning growl from inside as she raised her hand to knock she involuntarily retreated a few steps. There was something innately frightening about the Wolverine and no matter how many times she tried to remind herself that he was _Logan_ as well, there was no getting past that final barrier that kept her from trusting him with her back.

John smirked as he recognized the growl for what it was. After having heard it from his foster father if he even thought about making noise before three in the afternoon, he knew that was a 'fuck off before I kill you' growl. Relaying his observation to the others he smirked as they all nodded in a mix of confusion and uncertainty trying to figure out what to do next.

It was Jubilee who had the answer they were all looking for. "Rogue's fine." She watched as they all turned to look at her as if waiting for her to explain further. "Would Wolverine really be sleeping if Rogue was in trouble. He has like a sensor in his brain tuned to her or something."

Almost as if it was planned, the group all released a sigh of relief before splitting up and heading out again.

Looking back at Wolverine's door with a sneaky grin, Jubilee whistled quietly to herself as she thought back to where she knew her friend had spent most nights of this past month since Wolverine had left. While what she had said was technically true, there was no way in hell that Wolverine would be sleeping if something had happened to Rogue, she would safely make a bet that right now Rogue was in there with him.

With a quiet chuckle she headed down the steps as John called up to her wanting to know what her smirk was about and what he could do to get in on it.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Last Chapter, enjoy.**

Startled awake by a low growl, Rogue felt her eyes flutter open. Stretching lazily she couldn't help but smile at the fact that she'd had the best nightmare free sleep in a month. Hell, she was fairly certain she'd slept better than she'd ever had before.

Her movement caught the attention of a snoozing Logan who tightened his arms around her. She watched as his eyes peaked out from under his eyelids as he squinted to avoid the sun that streamed in through the windows. Sensing that the sun was really getting to him after the overcast weeks that he'd spent moving through Canada, she reached blindly across him searching for the remote on the side table. Finally snagging it in her fingertips, she brought it close not willing to move from her position just yet and searched for the right buttons.

Logan sighed in relief as the room was clouded in relative darkness the only light coming from a sliver beneath the heavy curtains and the dimmed wall lights. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he registered the warm body intertwined with his own, as soft fingertips ran over the gaps between his knuckles where the claws usually released. Though he was still somewhat trapped in the dreamworld he knew this was exceptionally unusual and felt his confusion grow as lips replaced the fingertips quickly before switching back again.

Hit with a smell he immediately knew was his Marie, Logan nuzzled her neck, happily deciding to remain in this dream a little longer. Her sigh echoed in his ear long enough for him to realize something was really wrong. Still feeling her fingertips caressing his hand, he carefully moved the other one away from her and released his claws.

The agony of his skin being ripped open was enough to alert him to one thing - despite the sheer implausibleness of this situation, it was very much real.

Rogue tried to keep her face from showing what she was feeling as Logan jumped back away from her, the only thing reassuring her was the fact that his hand was still in hers. Looking into his eyes she saw the confusion in them and something that told her he was only just in control of his more animalistic side and that it was because of that little control that he was acting this way.

Unable to help herself a smile broke out on her face as she finally processed that Logan - her Logan, her protector, her love - was back. Ignoring his increased confusion at the probably insane looking smile on her face she threw her arms around his neck, holding him to her as she tried to control her glee.

"You're back. You're here and you're safe."

Logan startled as her warm body pressed against his again. Despite what everyone thought, he was well aware that she wasn't a kid - hell, she'd turned eighteen the day before he'd left for Alkali Lake and even before that, for him at least, age was a mere number. The whole kid thing was more of a reminder that he needed to stay away from her before he hurt her for good.

Yet as he heard the honest relief in her voice as she clutched onto him as if she needed proof he was alright he couldn't help but wrap his arms around her knowing it was too late to turn back now. She had somehow become his everything.

For the first time in the fifteen years he remembered Logan felt cared about. He felt needed. Something he was never going to give up.

Running his hand across her bare skin two thoughts came to mind.

Firstly he noticed that she appeared to have picked up his trait in regards to sleeping in the nude as she'd never really struck him as the type to do that and despite the fact that they were in a potentially awkward situation, he couldn't bring himself to let go yet.

Instead he only pulled her closer, his eyes closing as he breathed her in.

His belated second thought was awe over the fact that he was not on the ground writhing in pain now. However as that thought was processed Rogue slipped her fingers into his hair and all thinking ceased.

Rogue began gently massaging Logan's head and couldn't help but smile happily as she watched him embrace their closeness as opposed to pushing her away again. Hearing a purr come from Logan as she rubbed over a particular spot near his ear, she held in her laughter waiting a minute before going over again and checking if it happened again.

It did!

Laughter bubbled out of her causing her entire body to shake against his. Finally controlling herself she looked into his eyes noticing they were sparkling with joy at her laughter even as the rest of his body seemed to be demanding an explanation. "You purred."

Logan was positive that if it was anyone else he would have ripped them to shreds before they got a chance to finish but it was Marie and everyone knew that the rules that the Wolverine held everyone else to didn't apply to this particular young woman. Instead he felt himself start to purr again, loving the way she ceased laughing and instead curled further against him as if a grown man of an unknown age purring was completely normal.

He felt a burst of surprise within him as she placed one hand over his heart as the other clutched the dog tags around her neck as she looked up at him. Moving his hand to cup the back of her neck, he smiled softly at her, pulling her down with him as he curled back into bed.

Feeling her warm body pressed against his side was like a dream come true. As his hand moved along her spine he realised he was exactly where he wanted to be. Where he _needed _to be and where his Marie needed him to be.

He knew she only had seven months left of her 'senior year' and he decided he'd stay by her side for the whole thing, somehow knowing she wanted nothing more than to accompany him on his search for answers and he was willing to wait for her. If he was honest with himself he knew he wanted nothing more than her joining him as well, he wasn't sure he'd be able to face it and survive without her.

Logan remembered being truly amazed that the professor had not known about the fact that while Rogue had been 'on the road' for the eight months she'd run away from home a full two years prior seeking refuge at various shelters along the way. So while he was sure that breaking into the professor's office was frowned upon, he had needed to know what Wheels was planning if he was going to trust him with Marie.

Either way he felt a smug pride as he realised that he'd learnt more about her in a few hours than anyone here did - even with two mind readers.

Rogue ran her finger across Logan's chest, without thinking she pressed a small loving kiss to his neck, taking his moan as approval. Settling back against him she felt her eyes slide close as she allowed herself to finally drop her guard. Blanketed by his warmth and surrounded by the scent of the man who was the only person she truly trusted she felt herself relax for the first time in nearly three years.

She knew without hesitation that he'd die protecting her and with that thought she finally succumbed to her sleep as she knew better than anyone else just how hard it was to kill the Wolverine.

- THE END -

**Hope you liked it ~ Gabz**


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